MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Monday morning I ran 11 miles as part
of my training for the Phoenix Rock 'n Roll Marathon this Sunday.

File Photo 1963- George Wallace sworn in as Governor of Alabama. Neg.63-317, photo by Robert Adams.

At mile 10.5, I ran up the steps of the capitol and tapped
on the massive front wooden door, seen behind George Wallace in this picture.

The photograph was taken exactly 50 years ago Monday, the
day Wallace was inaugurated governor and infamously declared "segregation now,
segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

At that moment, I felt I was celebrating some sort of
victory as an African-American born the year Wallace took that oath. In this
country, my people have witnessed tremendous gains: President Johnson signing the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, the growth of a large black middle class and, now,
the first U.S. president of black African descent.

In a sense, the struggle is over. But, unfortunately, a new
one has arisen and overcoming it seems more daunting than gaining basic rights
ever was.

That struggle, I believe, is "classism."

Race still matters in this country and -- for those who hold
deeply ingrained prejudices-- it will always determine some peoples' view of the
worth of other humans.

But in 2013, class -- and the access to education and
financial stability that usually comes with it -- is what is segregating people
in this society.

Classism affects all races and ethnic groups but it is
particularly discernible in black America. I know, because I've lived it.

I am the poster child for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 dream;
I was born, in fact, on August 28, 1963, the very day King delivered that most
heartrending speech of our ages.

My father is a successful Atlanta pediatrician and my
retired school teacher mother was a scholar in Basic College, a national
1950s-era program that sent bright high schools pupils to college at ages 14
and 15.

Kindergarten for me was on a U.S. Air Force base in
Tachikawa, Japan, where my dad saw the children of officers during the Vietnam
War. In the 1970s, I was among the first wave of African-Americans to integrate
Woodward Academy in College Park, Ga., just outside of Atlanta.

In contrast to a sizable percentage of African Americans, I
am a child of privilege. And I, like many upper- and middle-class whites, am
segregated from the poor in America.

According to the U.S. Census, the
family poverty rate and the number of families in poverty was 11.8 percent
and 9.5 million, respectively, in 2011. The bureau also reports that the
weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2011 was $23,021.

In contrast, a related census report
shows the median U.S. family household income, no matter the size, in real
terms between 2010 and 2011, was $62,273.

Statistics aside, I see the divisions in my everyday life.
Many urban youth are now second – and even third – generation children of poor,
single-parent households.

A July 14, 2012, report by New York Times Reporter Jason
DeParle, "Two Classes, Divided by 'I Do,'" summed it up well:

Estimates
vary widely, but scholars have said that changes in marriage patterns — as
opposed to changes in individual earnings — may account for as much as 40
percent of the growth in certain measures of inequality.

"It is the privileged Americans who are marrying, and
marrying helps them stay privileged," said Andrew
Cherlin, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University.

About 41 percent of births in the United States occur
outside marriage, up sharply from 17 percent three decades ago. But equally
sharp are the educational divides, according to an analysis by Child Trends, a Washington
research group. Less than 10 percent of the births to college-educated women
occur outside marriage, while for women with high school degrees or less the
figure is nearly 60 percent.

We live in a capitalist society and cherish it. But does
embracing capitalism mean that we must maintain a class of children born in a
world so separate from the mainstream?

-- Janita Poe is Hub Director for The Alabama Media
Group's al.com website in Montgomery. She periodically writes "Poe
in the Gump," a column about her life as a journalist in
Montgomery. Follow Janita and her team on Twitter @alcomMontgomery and like their Facebook fan page, al.com in
Montgomery.